Macauley Vineyard was originally founded by Ann Macauley in 1984. After graduating from college Ann was thinking of either building a business centered around dairy products or wine and she chose the latter. The first vintage was a late harvest Sautern style Sauvignon Blanc produced by well known Napa winemaker Ric Forman. The original vineyard was just north of St. Helena near the old Grist Bale Mill. Tragically Ann passed away a few years later in a car accident while that year's current vintage was still in barrel. Enter Jeff Sowells who was helping make wine for Ann at the time. He always wanted to make a late harvest Sautern style wine and ended up purchasing the wine that was in barrel for his own label - with his first vintage (Topaz) containing a tribute to Ann on the label. Many years later, Mac (Ann's son) would hook up with Jeff after the owners of Groezinger's wine shop in Yountville recognized his last name and introduced the two vintners to each other. Mac moved to the Napa Valley when he was a child and spent part of his childhood among the vineyards and growing up in the wine industry. A series of events would help lead Mac into the wine industry and revive his mother's label. During his teenage years he was in France and had an opportunity to taste a rare vertical tasting of wine at the famed first growth Bordeaux house, Château Lafite Rothschild. It was during this tasting that Mac realized for the first time just how special certain types of wines can be. Tasting wines dating back to 1961 from one of France's premier wineries certainly doesn't hurt in this regard! This tasting helped get him hooked on wine. Fast forward a number of years to when Mac was attending college in Colorado. Just by random chance he happened to stumble into the daughter of one of Napa's notable winemakers Robert Pecota (Mac's mother actually used their winery during the early years) and it was here that he reconnected with a number of his childhood friends from when he was living in Napa, a number of whom were actually working in the wine industry. He jumped at the opportunity to move back to the Napa Valley in 2000. It didn't take long to enter the world of winemaking and for the "Napa allure" to kick in. He worked a harvest at a well-known Napa winery and took classes at UC Davis and at the local college; as Mac says, he also "asked a lot of questions". His long time friend and well-regarded Napa winemaker, Kirk Venge was hired. The first commercial vintage released was in 2001 and Kirk as been the winemaker since day 1. Their focus is on high end Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. As of press time they produce two Napa Cabernet Sauvignons, a vineyard designate from the famed To Kalon vineyard as well as their Napa Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from premium vineyards in the valley. Vineyard control is essential to Macauley's wines. Before they even choose a vineyard it must meet their highest quality criteria. They walk the vineyard, sample the soils and provide input on trellising and canopy management. They always try to enter long term contracts with specific vineyards, thus ensuring the consistency of fruit from year to year. When a winery conducts their harvest at another winery because they do not actually own a winery, they typically use the winemaking equipment already available to them. Despite not actually owning a physical winery Macauley has several times ordered custom tanks to be used for their wines only. All vineyard lots are fermented separately and then combined only when the final blendings take place. Native yeasts are used when possible during the fermentations and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. The 2005 Zinfandel comes from several Napa Vineyards and is blended with 16% Petite Sirah. The nose is elegant. We typically reserve words such as delicious for the palate, but in this case this word is very appropriate for the bouquet. Wisps of vanilla, white chocolate and pepper spice complement cherry aromas. The palate is all about the fruit - it is rich and layered with flavors of ripe juicy blackberry and dark cherry. The initial entry of fruit is soft and remains smooth throughout with structured tannins on the finish. The 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from two premium vineyards, the Star (managed by David Abreu - one of California's premier vineyard consultants) and the Kelham Vineyard. The nose is a chocolate mousse mixed with aromas of cherry - beautiful! The layered aromas lead to layered flavors - blackberry, black currant and licorice. The mouth feel is soft and rounded yet rich with fruit. Smokiness and a touch of spice grace the very long finish. This is an approachable wine now but has good acidity and structure to age well. Macauley does not produce a lot of wine - typically each vintage is no more than several hundred cases. You can find their wine locally at Groezinger's in Yountville, the St. Helena Wine Center and at Dean & Deluca. You may also join their quickly growing mailing list for the latest updates and chances to purchase new releases. Visit: www.macauleyvineyard.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: Phone: 963-0263 Address: PO Box 398 Rutherford Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Madonna Estate is located in the Carneros region right next to the busy Highway 12. It is run by the famed Napa Valley winemaking family, the Bartolucci's. This family has been making wine in Napa Valley since 1922 which makes them among the oldest of the winemaking families in Napa. How many Napa wineries started *during* prohibition and are still in business today. We cannot think of another one. The original winery was used for making Sacramental Wine during Prohibition and selling the "juice" to home winemakers and used to be up in Oakville (the current Napa Wine Co) across from Mont St. John (as of press time this name still appears on some of their wine labels). The winery name is a decent one when you consider who they were originally selling to! The present day winery building dates from the 1970s. They make a wide variety of wines ranging from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir to their Cabernet Sauvignon. Their 2005 Reserve Pinot Noir named "Due Ragazze" or in English, "two girls" and is named after the winemakers daughters. This is an elegant and restrained Pinot - in other words its well balanced and not overly fruit driven. Dolcetto is a varietal not often found in Napa - it hails from Northern Italy and Madonna's 2004 Estate version has lots of blueberry and blackberry flavors with a very exotic spicy finish. Need something slightly sweet? Try their Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Need dessert?! They have a very light not overly sweet Muscat Canelli. This winery is on the large tourist bus stop circuit so the Tasting room can fill up extremely fast and then empty extremely fast. It all depends on your timing with the buses as to how crowded it will be. A good alternative to tasting when there are crowds is to taste in their special reserve room, which is available only for their higher end mostly Estate grown wines. Many winemaking families have trouble continuing the business to the younger generations - fortunately Madonna has been able to avoid some of the pitfalls and is a good case study for families who successfully hand down a winery business to succeeding generations. There are 4 alcoves in the Reserve Room, each of which contains photos from the 4 generations who have run Madonna since its inception. There is a small gift shop contained within the main tasting room with some nice trinkets and souvenirs including "seed postcards". Send Napa flower seeds as a postcard! They have been farming all their vineyards organically since they started this winery. Their official CCOF organic certification dates from 1991 making them among the oldest CCOF certified vineyards in the Napa area. Their primary vineyard is located across from Acacia winery just up from the cool often fog infested San Pablo Bay. On a clear day you can see into San Francisco from this location. Up valley they sometimes tell you there is only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in Carneros and yes, these varietals are the dominant ones in this region, however Madonna also grows Cabernet Sauvignon. Their 2002 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon tops out at 13.1% alcohol well below the fruit bombs you will find "up valley". This is a very earthy wine from the aromas to the flavors - with some spices on the finish. Picnic tables are available for winery customers. Visit: www.madonnaestate.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 255-8864 Address: 5400 Old Sonoma Road, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Madrigal Winery is located a shoe strings length from Highway 29 and just a bit north of Bale Lane north of the town of St. Helena. Their first vintage was in 1995 - they crushed at Napa Wine Co for many years, but just put the finishing touches on their new winery in mid 2007. The new facility is also home to several small high-end wineries who custom crush on site. The Madrigal family has a long history in Napa Valley - they have been managing vineyards in the area since the 1930's. Your tasting is typically conducted by one of the family members - and is very relaxed, no hype and no pressure. With a winery such as this one that has low production, relationships with customers is key and they often know many of their clientele. They are very hospitable. The tasting is usually conducted up stairs in their tasting room in the house/office located right next to the new winery building. There are also tables and benches under the oaks and can also be used for outdoor tastings. Their wine speaks for itself and even though their production is low they have a wide variety of wines. We started off with their 2005 Pinot Noir sourced from the cooler growing climate of Anderson Valley. They have managed vineyards in this valley for a number of years and know "sweet spots" for the premium fruit. This is a rich full bodied wine and one of the few Anderson Valley Pinots you will find from a winery located in the northern part of the valley. The aromas remind one of leather and cedar followed by great fruit flavors including strawberry and cherry. They are well-known for their Petite Syrah with lots of fruit in this wine - it would be great with grilled or BBQ meat. Also nice Merlots and Cabernets. Like a good port? Their port of Petite Syrah is delicious. This is a varietal hard to find as a Port in the Napa area. This one doesn't grab you like some ports that use cheap brandy - rather it is light without syrupy characteristics so that the fruit flavors really show through. Their wines are structured so that they can be consumed now or also aged. Going to be in the valley in September - Madrigal has an annual harvest party which is always a blast. Check their website for details. Visit: www.madrigalvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: M-F, 10-3pm Phone: 942-6577 Address: 3718 N. St. Helena Highway, Calistoga Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Mahoney Vineyards is owned by Francis and Kathy Mahoney and dates from 2004. However long time vintner Francis has roots in the Carneros region that date back to the early 1970's. He moved into the area when he was only in his mid 20's as he already had a strong passion for wine and was confident in the Carneros growing region. He was one of the first to plant Pinot grapes in this Carneros region and he has conducted much research involving Pinot clonal varieties. He has founded several wineries and wine brands over the years. You come here for their Pinot Noir's of course as that is what they are most known for; when we visited 4 of the 5 wines on their tasting menu were Pinots. Our favorite is the Las Brisas with various fruit flavors, mostly cherry, a little spiciness and a beautiful long finish. They also make an excellent very dark in color "cold weather" Syrah from their Mahoney Vineyard in the Carneros region. It is ready to drink now, shows a little pepper typical of this type of wine and has lots of berry flavors on the palate. In addition, Mahoney has several Italian & Spanish varietals which are very obscure for Napa - the Vermentino (a white Italian varietal which in their case has a lot of peach and other fruit flavors on the palate and ends with a taste similar to a pear) and - Montepulciano. Try finding these varietals at other Napa wineries! We tasted at their old winery before they sold to Folio Winemakers Studio as well as at their tasting room in Napa. Their Taste at Oxbow tasting room is located right next to the new Oxbow market near downtown Napa and opened in mid January 2008 in conjunction with Waterstone winery (view our Waterstone review here). This is a corner location and is part of the new wine tasting area in Napa with Mason Cellars next door, Oxbow, and Copia all lined up on 3 blocks. The tasting room is very large and well decorated. They are in a "green" building which means the building materials and furnishings are environmentally friendly. Check out their mostly green wine bar countertop - it is made from glass pieces of recycled wine and olive oil bottles. This tasting room has a slight wine lounge feel with tables and chairs scattered about (even the cushions on the chairs are made from recyclables!). They have a kitchen on site and have plans to offer sit down wine and food pairings. For a set tasting fee you choose 5 tastes out of 10 wines, (5 Waterstone wines and 5 Mahoney wines are available). Ask about the Downtown Napa Wine Tasting Card - multiple downtown area tasting rooms participate in this - for a one-time fee you can visit & taste at each of their tasting rooms. You can buy this card in each of the participating tasting rooms. Visit www.mahoneyvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 11-7pm Phone: 265-9600 Address: 708 First Street, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Mansfield Winery is located mere minutes from the Napa Valley floor but off of a narrow winding road that makes if feel like you are totally in the country. This winery is run by Richard & Leslie Mansfield, both very accomplished in their respective fields. Richard has been a winemaker since 1979 having earned viticulture & enology degrees from the University of Geisenheim in Germany as well as a degree in Chemistry from the University of Oregon. He founded Callahan Ridge winery which grew to be one of Oregon's larger wineries. Leslie graduated from the prestigious Ecole Ritz Escoffier at the Hotel Ritz in Paris and has written a number of well-received cookbooks. She also spent a number of years in Korea and designed 50% of Nike's Olympic apparel for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Food is her passion, and their wines are in fact very food friendly. ichard is a true believer in terroir driven wines and like other Napa wineries we have visited, will source fruit from areas outside of Napa Valley depending on the varietal and specific terroir. Case in point is their amazing Riesling which is sourced from the Umpqua Valley in Oregon. You will be hard pressed to find Riesling Vineyards in the Napa Valley (yes there are a few acres still planted), but the Umpqua valley is a perfect growing climate for this varietal. Their 2006 vintage is similar to a German Kabinet with low pH, some residual sugar and delicious flavors including lime, lemon and some citrus. It is a very well balanced wine which goes well with spicy Asian food. Great Chardonnay from the Russian River in neighboring Sonoma County as well as a Dry Creek Zinfandel. We also tried their 2004 Coombsville grown Cabernet Sauvignon. This is from a cooler growing region with slower ripening and this wine doesn't contain the higher alcohols that you will find in some of Napa's other Cab growing regions. Great flavors in this dark purple wine - cherries, blackberries, black pepper and hints of tobacco linger on the long finish. All of Mansfield's wines are made in limited production. Richard micromanages the winemaking starting from the vineyards, harvesting specific blocks only when ripe and keeping the lots small & separate from each other during fermentation and barrel aging until the final blending occurs. As of press time, they own one of the last un-restored ghost wineries in Napa County. We had the privilege of touring this, our first non restored Napa ghost winery! It is a huge building built by Italians and Chinese and for a number of years served as a processing plant for a nearby Perlite mine. We can't wait to see how this turns out once renovation and restoration are completed. They currently make their wine at a custom crush facility but will move all operations to this old Ghost Winery once it is restored - at that point it will be well over 100 years between this wineries last vintage. This ghost winery even has its own ghost story, but will leave that for later. Grapes used to be planted on site as evidenced by the old grapes stakes and future plans may include estate grown varietals. The Mansfield's host select winemaker dinners. You can find their wines locally at Whole Foods in Napa and Groezingers in Yountville or from their website. Visit: www.mansfieldwinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 963-1987 Address: St. Helena Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Marco DiGiulio Wines is run by well-known Napa winemaker Marco DiGiulio. His family immigrated to San Francisco from Italy. With family roots in Tuscany, living in the Italian community of North Beach, and parents who were restaurateurs, good food and wine were integral parts of their lives. Marco earned his degree in Fermentation Science from UC Davis and soon thereafter was working with Napa and Sonoma wineries. Stints at Buena Vista, Pine Ridge and Atlas Peak led to winemaking at Pepi Winery. While here he was also put in charge of the esteemed Lokoya brand focusing on high end Cabernet Sauvignon. While here he established his reputation for making world class Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Today he no longer is entirely employed by one winery, rather he is a consulting winemaker for a number of high end boutique producers in the Napa area. He started his own label in 2001; as of press time he focuses on single vineyard high end mountain grown Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Now considered a Napa winemaking veteran, Marco is very knowledgeable about the nuances and different terroir locations throughout the Napa Valley. With his connections and knowledge about area vineyards he has been able to secure premium fruit from Mt. Veeder and also Diamond Mountain. His fruit sources remain fairly consistent as he has used the same Diamond Mountain vineyard every year since his initial production. We caught up with Marco at Bin to Bottle, a high quality custom crush facility for a number of small Napa Vintners in South Napa. Marco is a partner in this project and makes his own wine here. As of press time he had just started his 25th harvest in the Napa Valley. Each of his two wines are produced in very small quantities - usually in the range of 200 to 300 cases. His approach to winemaking is fairly minimal, rather letting the vineyard and each vintage speak for itself. As he says, he wants to "taste" each vineyard. His wines are 100% varietal using native yeasts and are unfined and unfiltered. We tried both of his 2004 vintages just before their official release - these are completely different wines both in aroma and flavor and are true representations of the particular vineyards. The 2004 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from a vineyard owned and managed by Norm Kiken - owner of Reverie Winery. The vineyard grows on volcanic soils with a southern exposure and always ripen well. Besides taking a minimalist approach to the winemaking, and despite his many successes Marco is still a very humble winemaker. Case in point is the quote he puts on all his wines, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing" ~ Socrates. How true, especially in the wine industry! This wine is considerably softer than the Veeder Cabernet - its approachable now even at a young age. There are some nice mineralities on the elegant nose as the wine opens up, with some terroir driven dustiness. Nuances of smoked oak and spices are interwoven throughout the palate with a core being a thread of delicious black fruit including dark cherry. This is a very well balanced wine with lively acidity and a rich yet at the same time has a delicate finish. Buy this wine to drink now and then buy some for later! Marco's barrel program uses 100% New French Oak and he hand chooses barrels from a variety of coopers to ensure balance and more subtle influences from the oak. The 2004 Mt. Veeder Cabernet is a powerful massively structured dark inky wine. It sees extended maceration. Don't let the soft entry of fruit lead you astray. This is serious Veeder Cab. From the fruit forward entry to the large and incredibly long finish this wine has what big time Napa Cabernet drinkers seek out. Layered rich fruit (blackberry, blueberry) mingle with smoky spicy nuances. This wine has great structure, great acidity and great ageability. Because Marco's distribution is fairly limited, the best way to secure some of his wines is through the mailing list. He has select distribution in New York, Florida and several other states. You can find his wines locally at the Bounter Hunter in downtown Napa. Visit: www.marcowine.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: Phone: 942-6144 Address: P.O. Box 1072, Calistoga Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Marilyn Merlot released their first vintage in 1985. However, the owners Bob & Donna Holder started making home wine in 1981 and as good ideas often happen, was over a glass of wine! They came upon this name after drinking some of their own Merlot at dinner one evening. Bob was a CPA for a number of years and worked with many Napa wineries, and as a result had winemaking and vineyard connections. This wine has been a phenomenal success and is now a true collector's wine. Some of their earliest vintages are often fetching up to several thousand dollars per bottle. Each vintage has a different image of Marilyn Monroe on the label. Marilyn Merlot was their first wine although today they make several different wines. The ultimate collector within a collector's wine is the Velvet Collection series. First vintage was in 2002 and they will stop making this wine in 2012. A set of 10 very sexy sultry nude photos of Marilyn were taken in 1949 and each vintage has one of these photos on the label. We have seen some interesting labels during our Napa winery odyssey but this one takes the cake. Each label is a nude photo of Marilyn (covered appropriately for the label), and has what they call a "peel and peak" protective plastic layer which when removed reveals the entire un-covered photo! Each of these wines is only available in 1.5 liters and comes in its own special box and package. This is collector wine at its best. The release date of all wines is always June 1st - Marilyn's birthday and each vintage usually sells out rather quickly. Their Norma Jean wines are very affordably priced and are marketed as "A Young Merlot" - and features photos of a young Norma Jean before she took the name Marilyn Monroe - this is the only wine to feature non Napa fruit (the vineyard source is near the historic town of French Camp in California's central valley). All other fruit is sourced from high end vineyards near the towns of Rutherford & Yountville including from the Beckstoffer Vineyards. We tried the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon which was among one of the oldest "current" releases that we have tried. Great toasty characteristics on the nose continuing to the palate with nice fruit, hints of chocolate and a smoky intense long finish. As with most of their other current releases, this wine is priced quite affordably. If you want to see the best vertical (each year's wine) display of Marilyn Merlot wines - visit Traverso's in Santa Rosa (about 50 minutes from the Napa Valley). All the wines for the Marilyn Merlot label are made at the famed Napa Wine Co along Highway 29. You can even taste these at Napa Wine Co's Cult Tasting room which is open to the public by walk-in. Visit: www.marilynwines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private, You can taste at Napa Wine Co Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 963-5475 Address: N/A Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Markham Vineyards was founded in 1874 as Laurent Winery, which makes this the 4th oldest existing winery in Napa Valley. They did however, "take a break" during the days of prohibition like many wineries, but unlike many wineries who were put out of business during these trying times, Markham was able to bounce back. This winery underwent a major renovation in the late 1980's and the main building really shows off nicely now. This winery is considered one of the larger "tourist" wineries that dot parts of Highway 29 however it is not on the busy "wine strip" south of St. Helena - rather it is in the less crowded northern area of Highway 29/128. You enter through a massive stone walled courtyard and the visitor center/ tasting room is through the large wooden door on the left. The courtyard often plays host to tourists taking photographs. A large gift shop surrounds the actual square tasting counter. Rotating exhibits line part of one end of the gift shop - when we were there it was pottery. A wine art exhibit is located in the hallway gallery upstairs. Choose three tasting options ranging from $10 to $20. Markham is most known for their Merlot and this in fact comprises about 65% of their entire production. The big outlet for this is restaurants - especially steakhouses nationwide. All grapes used for their wines are 100% Napa fruit as well as on vineyards entirely owned by Markham. Their prices for all their wines are quite affordable by Napa standards. Besides Merlot their Sauvignon Blanc is a big seller. We enjoyed two vintages of their Petite Sirah. These are their "biggest" wines - even bigger than the Cabernet Sauvignon they produce. The Petite Sirah is a rich fruit forward "meaty" wine finishing with huge tannins. Their winemaker has been with Markham since 1992 and is very well respected in the industry. She has trained with several of Napa's most well-known winemakers during her long career. What is very nice is they often has older vintages available for tasting 7 and 8 years old, as well as even older wines than that for purchase (library and large format wines). Note that the reserve tasting is in their wine library located in the historic stone cellar. This tasting is only open on the weekends. Visit: www.markhamvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 963-5292 Address: 2812 St. Helena Highway North Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Marston Family Vineyard is located all the way at the end of White Sulphur Springs Road west of the town of St. Helena. This is an appointment only winery for serious wine enthusiasts - they are only setup for very small groups. The drive into the winery property is fantastic; once you leave St. Helena you are driving on a very narrow windy road and you soon pass the historic White Sulphur Springs Resort. It was a resort for about 154 years - one of California's oldest (founded in 1853), but it is no longer open to the public. If you drive by in the summer you will have a blast of the sulphur smell for a few minutes (not as bad in the wintertime). The road takes you next to a small creek through some redwoods until you reach Marston's moss covered gate and then up to the vineyard estate. We've been here several times and when we first visited the sun was just breaking through the clouds with great views of the rolling hills and planted vineyards. History of grapes on the property dates back to the late 1890's when access to the vineyard was on the old Wells Fargo Stage Coach road which ran all the way to Santa Rosa. A drive up this road is through part of the Mayacamus mountains - which form the western boundary of Napa Valley and separate Sonoma County to the west. The famous actor, Clark Gable used to visit frequently. He was also the best man at the wedding of the wineries' post World War II owner, Al Menasco - an aviation pioneer in his own right. Clark Gable actually spent his honeymoon in the main house on the property. The Marston's purchased this property in 1969 and until the late 90's exclusively sold their grapes to other wineries including Beringer who currently manages the estate vineyards. This property has long been planted to vineyards and even famed winemaker and soils expert Andre Tchelistcheff helped craft wine from the estate. The Marstons have only 10% of the entire 400 acre estate planted to vine, with much of the surrounding hillsides covered with native vegetation. A visit here is certainly not a Napa Highway 29 experience! 1998 was the first commercial release. Marston is known for their extremely high class elegant Cabernet Sauvignon and there is a reason for this. Combine world class terroir, incredible attention to detail in the vineyard (we've heard their vineyard manager speak of what goes on in the "fields" and it is extensive), and top winemaking skills and you have the perfect wine recipe for success. The total annual production is always around 500 cases exclusively of one wine, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2004 is a very dark inky wine. The aromas are initially almost gravelly and as it opens up reveals additional mineralites and fruit including blackberry. The mouth feel is soft, well balanced and oh so smooth with a structured yet delicate tannins on the finish. It is extremely drinkable now yet has that bright fruit, lively acidity and structure to ensure that this wine will age successfully for a number of years. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is even smoother than the 2004 although it is still very full bodied. The nose has some floral characteristics with nuances of berry fruit and cocoa and chocolate appear as the bouquet opens. Rich ripe fruit dominate the palate - this wine pairs extremely well with food. In 2005 the wine-making program was changed so that the wine was aged in 400-liter puncheons (larger sized then normal wine barrels) which are custom made in France. These are actually rotated each day during the fermentation, rather than doing the standard punch-downs. The thinking behind this is the turning of the barrel allows the wine to receive less agitation than punch-downs. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is removed, pressed and then put back into the same puncheons for its aging. Marston's philosophy is to ensure the fermentation goes smoothly but with minimal intervention. It is always a challenge to tame mountain grown tannins and the 2005 vintage is a clear reflection of how successfully they were able to do this. Their wine maker is Philippe Melka who works with several select high end Napa Wineries - in the past he has been voted American Winemaker of the year by Robert Parker in Food & Wine Magazine. He has been Marston's winemaker since the first vintage. Marston was fortunate to acquire his services fairly early in his career as his time is so valuable these days. Philippe has a Geology degree (he knows his Napa terroir very well) and loves working with Napa hillside vineyards. As he mentioned to us, "hillside vineyards are more of a challenge"! It is always a fine line to craft wines with that special elegance and softness ready to be consumed now, while at the same time ensuring the wine has the acidity, fruit and structure to be aged and not be flat in say 10 years. This is a line that Philippe walks well - Marston's older vintages if you can find them, are rumored to be drinking very well now. Marston's Cabernet Sauvignon is available through their mailing list, high end restaurants and select retail stores. One year, there wine was voted the top ranked Cabernet Sauvignon by Wine News Magazine. You can also find it locally in St. Helena at Dean & Deluca. Visit: www.marstonfamilyvineyard.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call Phone: 963-8490 Address: P.O. Box 668, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Martin Estate is a gem of a winery located in the heart of the Rutherford district near Frog's Leap Winery. It was originally established in 1887 as H.H. Harris winery, a custom crush facility for other wineries. The famous Georges de Latour (a pioneer in the Napa Valley who started Beaulieu Vineyards) actually made several vintages at this original winery, with the last vintage produced in 1910. The property eventually fell into various stages of disrepair with at one point over 50,000 bats living in the main winery building. In 1996, Greg Martin who owns Greg Martin Auctions in San Francisco purchased the property as a country retreat from city life. As the story goes his original intent was not to become a winery even though he had prior experience with home winemaking and lived in Bordeaux for two summers. However after finding and resurrecting an old gate lying in the fields, the county got wind of this and said the gate was improper for a private residence to use because of its height. If this was a commercial operation the height of the gate would be acceptable. Never has a gate figured so prominently in the creation of a Napa winery! In addition, the property is in the well-known Rutherford wine district. Both of these reasons created the impetus to bond this location as a winery. Major renovation and retrofitting occurred, grapes were planted in 1997 in the rich alluvial soil that surrounds the property and their first commercial vintage was in 2001. That means this winery had a 90 year gap between vintages. Approximately 8 acres are planted in 3 clones of Cabernet with a small block of Merlot. Martin's main focus is on a 100% varietal high end Cabernet Sauvignon although as of press time they do make a delicious unfiltered Rose of Merlot. A visit is on a very limited basis for the serious wine enthusiast. Tastings are private and are strictly by appointment. The estate is stunning; the owner is a serious collector of antique armaments (guns, cannons, knives, other armor) as well as other historical paintings which are placed throughout the winery. It is like walking into a European museum. Be sure to take in the "great hall" - this is the largest room in the estate and is very well decorated including a knights armor, miniature canons, spears, and old muskets. The winery is downstairs with the residence rooms located upstairs. Great attention to detail is made during their winemaking with the owner involved in all aspects of this process. The fruit is often picked a number of times during the harvest in small lot bins to ensure only ripe fruit is used. Clones are kept separate and are fermented in large custom made French Oak fermentation tanks. We tried their 2003 Estate Cabernet. This delicious wine has a very soft velvety mouth feel. The fruit is definitely there but it is not an "in your face" wine, rather it is more of an elegant Bordeaux style with flavors of blackberries and plums on the palate. The structured finish is smooth with very well rounded tannins. They also produce a Martin Collectors Reserve Cabernet, as well as their limited production Bacchanal Cabernet. The owner designed the label which is a tribute to his passion for antique arms. Visit: www.martinestate.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call Phone: 967-0400 Address: P.O. Box 390, Rutherford Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (1) | | Add Comment |

Mason Cellars is run by a husband wife team Randy and Megan Mason and their primary focus is on Sauvignon Blanc. Randy has a long history in the Napa wine industry working at wineries such as Chappellet and Napa Wine Co. He originally planned on being a Veterinarian and was one class from graduating with a degree in that field when he took his first viticulture class. Many winemakers after working for other wineries get the itch to branch out with their own labels; Randy and his wife started Mason in 1993. Today their wine is made at Napa Wine Co. There are not many wineries in the Napa area focusing Sauvignon Blanc and this is one of the better ones. Their wines were tasted in Wine Collectives with other wineries for 14 years before they opened their own tasting room. They opened this tasting room near the riverfront in the city of Napa in late 2006. You can easily walk here from the Copia Wine Center or from downtown. This is fast becoming the new wine tasting hub for the city of Napa. In late 2007 two more tasting rooms opened up, Mahoney / Waterstone down the block and the tasting room in the Oxbow year round public market. Most people pass up the town of Napa for the main wineries up valley - but it is small tasting rooms such as this one that makes it worth your while to spend a day just wine tasting in the actual town of Napa. Their tasting room is casual, airy and simple keeping the focus on the wines. Step up to the marble counter top and choose from several Sauvignon Blancs. We tried the 2006 Pomelo, grown in Lake County (a county north of Napa county). With a name like Pomelo it is rather easy to guess some of the characteristics in this wine! It was all tank fermented - nice herbaceous aromas followed by grapefruit and pomelo flavors. A great wine for a hot day. Their 2006 Sauvignon Blanc is the only wine that sees any oak during its aging. This is their flagship Sauvignon Blanc and is sourced from Napa Vineyards. It is a crisp wine with citrus flavors and some subtle notes of fig. Very clean finish. The 2005 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from vineyards in Sonoma - this wine was left on the lees; stirred for 4+ months; it is a very smooth wine with a long finish. Before having this tasting room Mason used to make Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (last vintage was 2001 - which they are now sold out of), however stay posted. They have renewed their red varietal program and a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon will be the first "new" vintage. Ask about the Downtown Napa Wine Tasting Card - multiple downtown area tasting rooms participate in this - for a one-time fee you can visit each of their tasting rooms. Visit: www.masoncellars.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: Thu-M, 11-5pm Phone: 963-5292 Address: 714 First St., Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Match Vineyards are owned by Randy Sloan and Sasha Match. The winery is named in honor of Sasha. Randy was a Russian linguist for the US army for a number of years before eventually settling in the San Francisco Bay Area. While raising their young son in the Bay Area they started looking for a weekend home. They found a nice piece of property just north of St. Helena already planted to grapes. Randy thought it would be nice to use the grapes from the property to make home wine in his garage (he has always been a passionate consumer of fine wine) - 7 acres, 2 to 3 tons per acre. You can do the math and quickly see this volume is much greater than any home winemaker would want to deal with! This is where long time vintner, Cary Gott comes in. He is well-known in the Napa Valley having co-founded several wineries as well as served as head of Sterling Vineyards and Mumm Napa Valley. He runs a successful business providing Management consulting services for start-ups and other wineries. The timing was right, the fruit high quality and Cary stepped in to become their winemaker, releasing their first commercial vintage in 2002. Cary doesn't take on many new winemaking projects rather he prefers to consult. He saw the opportunity of producing wine for Match vineyards as something special and has been their winemaker since day 1. Their focus is entirely on Cabernet Sauvignon from their two hillside vineyards. The 7-acre Butterdragon Hill Vineyard is located just north of St. Helena in the western hills (stunning views by the way looking out over Napa Valley from the vineyard) and their home 3-acre vineyard Baconbrook which is located in the Spring Mountain Appellation just west of the town of St. Helena. They do not source grapes for any of their wine - all the fruit for their wines comes from these two vineyards. As a result of two totally different terroir and microclimates (despite the vineyards being fairly close to each other as the crow fly's) you would expect the wines to be different from each other and this is exactly the case. Yes, these vineyards are not your normal Napa named vineyards and there are stories behind each name! When their son was young he was playing near their pool watching all the dragonflies buzzing around when a lone butterfly flew nearby. Being at that inquisitive age he wondered out loud whether butterflies would mate with dragon flies. His parents cleverly answered if that were the case, you have a "butterdragon" - cute and possibly something you might easily forget - but not in this case. Little did he know that the answer to his creative question would one day be memorialized in a vineyard! Baconbrook is a bit more straight forward; it is the English translation of their son's German last name. We started our tasting with several very young vintages, some taken directly from the barrel. In addition we tasted older vintages as well. This gave us a good indication of how the wine ages and common consistencies (and differences of course) between the vintages. The Butterdragon wines usually have a bit of Merlot blended in with the Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2005 Butterdragon opens up very nicely with some mineralities, hints of crushed rock and floral aromas. Yes, there is plenty of fruit in the bouquet as well! The entry on the palate is rounded and soft with lots of fruit up front followed by a nuance of smokiness from the oak with sweet tannins towards the finish. Compare this to their other vineyard - the 2005 Baconbrook (not yet released at the time of our tasting). This wine has both a bigger backbone and finish than the same vintage Butterdragon. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves - the nose is very fruit driven most noticeably with its blackberry aromas. A touch of oak and spice are represented on the finish - this wine will do well with some cellaring. The 2003 Butterdragon Hill has been treated very well over time. This vineyard is typically a bit softer than the wine produced from their Baconbrook vineyard and age has even provided additional softness and balance. Despite the softness in the mouth this is still a very rich concentrated wine. Beautiful sweet fruit aromas grace the bouquet including black cherry and currant with notes of chocolate, additional cherry and nuances of smoky oak towards the finish. At the time of this review, their total production is fairly small at about 750 cases. They offer one release in Fall and one in Spring. As of press time you can find their wine locally at Meadowood, St. Helena Wine Merchants and at ACME or through their website. Visit: www.matchvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: Phone: 968-9040 Address: St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Matthiasson Winery is tucked away in an old warehouse in the town of Napa and this is certainly is part of the charm of a visit here. As of press time they are currently one of the smaller wineries within the Napa area as they produce merely several hundred cases although they plan on ramping up to 2-3x their current production in the near future. This is one of those Napa wineries totally under the radar and you actually visit with the owners, Steve Matthiasson or Jill Klein (Steve is the winemaker). Steve is firmly rooted in the vineyards and actively involved in all vineyard decisions- he runs his own Vineyard Management Consulting company in the Valley. They specialize exclusively in three wines, a Napa Red, a Napa White and a 100% Merlot. Their red wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend. The 2005 blend is sourced from two hillside vineyards in Napa's Oak Knoll district. It is an elegant wine with great aromatics. It is dark purple in color with juicy fruit and nuances of chocolate on the palate all anchored by smooth tannins. Their white is a wine you will not find at any other winery in Napa. It is a unique blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon with two Italian varietals - Ribolla gialla and Tocai Friulano. Merely two acres of Ribolla gialla is planted in all of California; more is planted in the North Western part of Italy where the winemaker has visited and gained additional insights into how this varietal is used. Ribollo has been made into wine since the 13th century. The reason this esoteric fact is known is that it was mentioned on a wedding menu that dates back all these hundreds of years! Matthiasson's blend is delicious - very floral on the nose and crisp to the taste. White wine does have a tannic structure - even though tannins are usually not mentioned in the same breath as with whites because they are not as overpowering as you may find in some of the big reds. The tannins in this blend are light and well structured. The Matthiasson's are truly farmers with strong backgrounds in Agriculture. They have leased several acres of land in the Napa area and have planted two small fruit orchards. They run the Napa Valley Fruit Company which provides local grown fruits at the Napa Farmer's Market. You can find their wines at ACME Wine Shop in St. Helena and also at several local restaurants in the valley including Mustard's, Coles in Napa and Press. Visit: www.matthiasson.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: No, Call if you want to make a visit - depends on owner's schedules Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 265-9349 Address: P.O. Box 10880, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Mayacamas Winery is a gem of a winery located high in the Mayacamas Mountains west of the actual Napa Valley near Mt. Veeder. The winery sits on the edge of a crater on a extinct volcano. 52 acres of vineyards are on the property ranging in elevation from 1,800 to 2,400 feet - the uppermost part of their vineyards are among the highest in all of Napa County. A visit here is by appointment - during the week (closed weekends) and is for small groups only. You will see why this is if you visit. They are located at least 30 minutes from the valley floor on some of the most windy narrow roads in the Napa area. The final push into this historic winery is on a gravel then dirt road which ends with only several tight parking spots. The winery itself dates from 1889, it was built by a German immigrant and has had several owners during its long history. It became dormant during prohibition although there is some evidence of bootlegging in the stone cellar during this time! The current owner Bob Travers, purchased the winery in 1968 and is still in charge of the winery operations. Any Napa winery in operation today which dates from the 1960's, is still privately owned, and Bob is still very much in charge of operations (along with his son Chris) - puts that winery into a very select list of the "oldest continuously operating Napa Wineries". They are even an intricate part of more recent history - their 1971 Cabernet Sauvignon was part of Steven Spurrier's now famous Paris Tasting of 1976 which helped push the quality of Napa's wines to the International wine scene. There are many things which separate this winery from other Napa area wineries. Its unique location and history certainly make this winery stand out. A tour here will highlight additional factors. We visited during harvest and were able to see the winery equipment in action. This a gravity flow winery - the grapes are de-stemmed and then the juice flows down to neutral concrete wood covered fermentation tanks. Out of over 500 Napa wineries visited to date, these are the only such types of fermentation tanks we have seen. These fermentation tanks in no way take away from the varietal characteristics of the wine - and that is exactly what the Travers are after. The juice is eventually put into large wooden casks, one of which was here when the winery was purchased in 1968 and is over 60 years old. Mayacamas is not big on oak in their wines as their philosophy is let the wine speak for itself - so you will see mostly older oak barrels in their lower cellar room. The majority of their fruit comes from on the property and their focus is on Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon although they do make a delicious Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. We tried several Chardonnays none of which go through secondary fermentation. Mayacamas releases Library wines each year - these typically have about 5 years of aging before they are available to the public. The 2001 Chardonnay vintage has aged amazingly well with very rich concentrated fruit and nice mineralities representative of their unique terroir. Speaking of which the steepness, nutrient poor soils, 50+ year old vines - combined with cool breezes produces a wine of exceptional quality combined with the perfect acidity for aging. In addition the yields are extremely low - often around 1 ton per acre. These are not your normal quick to release - quick to drink California Chardonnays! Mayacamas recommends drinking their Chardonnays typically between 5 and 8 years when they reach their peak maturity and complexity. So the point of this is if your budget is in your favor purchase two of each wine; one for drinking now and one for aging!Their 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is smooth and silky with lots of fruit flavors most notably cherry, red currant and plum. By the time their Cabernet's reach the market they have already undergone 5 years of proper aging - which is a luxury that many wineries do not have. Maycamus also releases older vintages every year called the Library releases. Lastly, you may have heard of the movie called "A Walk in the Clouds" - this was partially filmed on site. Details of this will be covered on your tour. Due to the this properties history, winery tour, vineyards, and of course the high quality wine - a visit here is among one of the more unique Napa winery visits. Visit: www.mayacamas.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: M-F, Call Phone: 224-4030 Address: 1155 Lokoya Road, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

McKenzie Mueller Vineyards & Winery is located in the heart of the Carneros district. They are open by appointment only but tend to be quite flexible as the owners live on site - so if you find yourself in the Carneros region one day, its ok to call them the same day for an appointment. This winery was founded in 1989 by Bob Mueller and Karen McKenzie who both grew up in the Napa Valley area. They are "locals"! Bob in fact gained much of his early winemaking experience by working at Robert Mondavi Winery for 15 years before starting his own winery. He planted his vineyards here during a time where the Carneros region was just coming out of the shadow of being Napa's, "next door neighbor" and was gaining its own good reputation. To enter the winery, you drive down a short gravel driveway - the actual tasting room is in the "wine shed" in the back. Barrels are stacked up all around you and typically you will be tasting/touring with one of the owners. They only make about 2500 cases total. They make excellent Pinot Grigio (first winery to plant this varietal in the Carneros region), and their flagship wine, the Cabernet Sauvignon. Also try their Pinot Noir, Merlot and their Carneros Rose. | If you don't want to make an appointment, visit them on the two weekends when they are open to the public during April & the Fall as part of the Carneros weekend winery events. This is a lively time to visit the winery as it can be extremely crowded in the barn with enthusiastic wine drinkers. During this event this is always a live local bluegrass band performing in the cellar barn if bad weather or outside on the grass during good weather. Pray for good weather as it can get a bit tight with the tasting and the musicians inside the barn! If you attend this event get there early or pay extra and try their Reserve Wines. This is an excellent opportunity to try not often opened older vintages (up to 10 years old). All their wines are unfiltered with minimal fining. We tried a 1998 Merlot still drinking great after 10 years testament to a varietal that is not mentioned with regards to aging. Another treat is their Pinot Noir - the vintages we tried were fairly soft with silky tannins with great cherry flavors on the palate and slightly spicy finishes. Other varietals of note are their 100% Malbec and Cabernet Franc - both of which are grown on site. Also be sure to check out their permanent art gallery in the adjoining building. Photos and artworks from local artists are on display and are for sale. Visit: www.mckenziemueller.com or www.carneroswineries.org

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call, depends on owner's schedules Phone: 252-0186 Address: 2530 Las Amigas Road, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Meadowcroft Wines is one of the few wineries we include in this project who make their wine outside of Napa (1 of 2 so far). This project is about being as inclusive as possible and we include a review here because this small winery owns a 2.4 acre Mt. Veeder located vineyard which provides all the grapes for their reserve wines, called Meadowcroft (under the Magito parent winery). Mt. Veeder is a sub appellation in Napa, and is sometimes referred by us as the "wild" Napa appellation because of all the native forests and very steep hillsides. As a result this vineyard is surrounded by native vegetation and forest land, all of which plays a part in the specific terroir characteristics that come out in these Mt. Veeder grown wines. We recently ran into winemaker and owner Tom Meadowcroft at an urban tasting in San Francisco and asked him how many cases he produces. We were taken back when he said 22 cases. Wow, that makes him the smallest producer we've tasted with to date. Actually there is more to the story - his production will be increasing relatively considerably and should be around 400 cases when he gets a full crop in the door. His first vintage was supposed to be 2003 but unfortunately the ravages of nature sometimes rear their heads. We've come across stories of freak hail storms and wild turkeys but in Tom's case gates were left open and deer entered the vineyard and destroyed more than 80% of the crop. Agg. The 2004 vintage was was his first release. He planted the entire vineyard in 2000. The vineyard looks a bit different from other vineyards you may see in the area as the vine's cordons are trained relatively low to the ground - this gives additional intensity to the fruit as well as an overall warmer ripening environment during season. Tom has worked with several prominent Napa wineries over the years including Bob Biale Vineyards, Duckhorn, Opus One and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. His inspiration for getting into the wine industry started when he was living in Europe and was washing wine bottles for a living for a short time. That's an interesting story that only Tom can tell. His last name almost describes his vineyards perfectly - the word Meadowcroft means "fertile area" and the croft is the "cultivated area" that has been nurtured over time. Look for the honeybee on the label and you will know you have a Meadowcroft wine. We tried the 2004. As with all wines from this vineyard to date, it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a dark wine with a huge nose of black cherry and cassis. Fruit combined with exotic spices on the palate and a rich lingering finish make drinking this wine a pleasure. Visit: www.magitowines.com/scripts/cpg.cfm?id=3

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 567-1521 Address: N/A Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Meadowood Lane Winery is a partnership between a retired shipping veteran who was instrumental in the design of modern day cargo shipping containers and long time well-respected Napa winemaker David Mahaffey. Their wine is bottled under the label Palladian Estate. The name comes from the small very European looking Palladian temple (imported from England) built on a hillside above the vineyards. This winery and vineyard is located just down the street from the plush Meadowood Resort and is right across from the prestigious Harlan Estate Napa Reserve. In fact Palladian's winery sign on Silverado Trail is right next to Meadowood's and if you don't know better you might think these wineries are one in the same. All varietals used in their single vintage Cabernet Sauvignon are grown on site including the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. David's philosophy is of course that winemaking starts in the vineyards and he describes his vineyard management of Palladian as not being farmed, rather it is gardened (organically). He lets the fruit ripen to peak perfection and opens up the canopy to allow for even ripening. The real art of a winemaker is in the blending and David excels at this. All the wine making is conducted with as little machine intervention as possible with much of the work done by hand. A simple forklift is essential for their gravity flow operations! Earlier in his career, David was instrumental in designing what is now an essential piece of equipment for many wineries, the wine ozone machine used for controlling contamination, treating barrels and sanitizing applications. At the time of his invention this type of machinery was unheard of in the wine industry. Today, it is available through one company only (Carlsen & Associates) and many of Napa's wineries use this in their wine production. A visit here is always with the winemaker, is very personable and is for serious wine enthusiasts. You will park below at the main house and walk up the dirt road a short distance to the actual cave. This is one of the smallest caves in the valley - the original plans called for drilling 50% further into the hillside, but there is one rock that stops even the most determined cave drillers and that is obsidian. They ran into a solid chunk of this rock and that is where the cave ends - maybe 50 feet in from the entrance. Despite the small cave they have additional cold storage - note the cargo containers next to the side of the hill built into rock. These are used for storing wine and in addition are an example of the types of cargo containers one of the partners helped design. 2003 was their first vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon is Palladian's primary varietal and Merlot and Cabernet Franc are blended in as necessary. David's philosophy is to create a wine that is not a huge typical Napa Cabernet high alcohol, fruit dominated wine, but rather a wine that yes, has ripe California fruit characteristics, but is lower in alcohol with a Bordeaux type structure (open top fermentors and a moist humid cave in part help the wine lose alcohol). We tried several blends that will go into their final 2007 vintage. Cedar and cigar box aromas are intermingled in with the fruit on the bouquet followed by nice fruit layers and hints of vanilla on the palate. For such a young wine the fruit was already showing very nicely. With additional aging and blending the tannins will soften out. For high quality wine to price ratio, this is one of the better value wines in Napa. Total production is only 450-500 cases of this single wine each year. It is distributed in select high end restaurants nationally. Visit: www.heronlakewinery.com/releases.html#palladian until their main winery site is up and running which is: www.meadowoodlanewinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call Phone: 963-7106 Address: 690 Meadowood Lane Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Meander Wines is run by long time Napa winemaker, Amy Aiken. She is passionate about Cabernet Sauvignon and made this wine at several well-known Napa wineries including Joseph Phelps, Viader & Oakville Ranch. Based on her experience and contacts in the industry she is familiar with several very high end vineyards. A number of years ago, she decided to create a label for herself. However the vineyards she had her eye on were in such demand for their high quality fruit that she had to wait a few more years before certain blocks in these vineyards became available. Once she got her foot in the door an additional part of these vineyards opened up and she was able to source even more fruit. She specializes in a high quality Cabernet Sauvignon each year with production typically around 500 cases. Her first vintage was in 2003. The name of the winery has multiple meanings including "to take a pleasant path", it is a reference in Greek wine history, and it is a loose combination of the names of her sons. She sources from the Morisoli (Rutherford) and Lewelling (St. Helena) Vineyards. The Lewelling Vineyard was originally established in 1864 which makes this one of the oldest continuously family owned and operated vineyards in the Napa area. Each vineyard brings a certain component to the wine - the fruit from the Morisoli ads the backbone and structure and the fruit from the Lewelling vineyard brings an elegance and more of the fruit flavors. She uses all French Oak with about 65% of it being new. We tried her 2004 vintage. About 50% of the fruit comes from each vineyard for this wine. It has strong tannins (not overly tannic) rather it has a softness and mouth feel that is very well balanced. It is a very dark well extracted wine with lots of fruit on the palate including some licorice flavors. The finish is very long - one wine taster even timed the finish and said it timed out at 28 seconds! We also tried her 2005 version - as of press time it is still a young wine which has additional fruit characteristics compared to the 2004 vintage. You can also buy Magnums of this wine. The wine can be found locally at Backdoor & Cal Wine in Napa and ACME wine shop in St. Helena. In addition, you can join the mailing list online. Possible future plans include a tasting facility in downtown St. Helena. Visit: www.meanderwines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 963-3773 Address: P.O. Box 146, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Merryvale Winery is located next to the train tracks on the east of St. Helena Highway in the southern part of St. Helena. It is the largest winery located within the actual town of St. Helena. Look for the ivy covered walls which are visible from Highway 29. Merryvale was founded by the Schlatter family in 1983 and is still family owned and operated by the Schlatters. It is housed in the first winery constructed after prohibition in Napa Valley. More trivia: the now famous Mondavi family got their start with winemaking here. There is a very historical photo taken in 1949 that hangs near the tasting room, it features one of the Mondavi's as well as other pioneer Napa winemakers. It is neat to see this photo, because these are the men that founded & promoted Napa's wine industry after the setback of prohibition - back when Napa was not well known and only a few wineries were in existence. Merryvale has two primary labels, Starmont and Merryvale. The Starmont contains their lower priced wines and are made at a huge new production only winery located south of Napa. This is a very environmentally friendly building with large solar panels on the roof and a recycling program for the winery wastes. The Merryvale label includes their higher end labels which are made on site. They take great care in their winemaking - and recently purchased 32 small tanks. The reason for these tanks is that they often pick their vineyards many times during the harvest season and want to ferment each picked block separately - even down to separately fermenting specific rows in a vineyard. We tried a large lineup of their wines, as we result we will mention only our favorites here. They produce quite a few Chardonnays. The 2005 Merryvale Chardonnay from the Carneros grown Hyde Vineyard is whole cluster pressed (they often use triple sorting to ensure they are getting only the highest quality fruit) - this wine is very full bodied with beautiful aromatics. Merryvale makes a variety of Cabernets - their top of the line is the Profile. This was the first wine they ever produced. The 2003 we tried is a very dark rich unfiltered wine. It is a big bold Napa Cabernet now that will continue to develop with age. Not to be left out is the affordably priced square bottled Antigua, Muscat de Frontignan. Rich amber colors shine through the clear glass, and black walnut and hints of orange peels make this a classical Dessert Wine. Two tastings are offered in the tasting room - a classic and a reserve. Wine events are held on weekends including a Wine and Food pairing. Typically their Cask room is open during normal business hours and this is well worth visiting. It is the only one of its kind in the valley. This Cask room has a real medieval feeling with all the lighted candles, wine cellars and very long table in the center. This is where they hold the majority of their popular wine seminars. The tasting room can be very crowded especially on the weekends as this is a popular tourist stop (many of their special wine events are held on the weekends). They also stay open later than most Napa wineries. Private tours and tastings are available by reservation. Merryvale definitely has one of the more advanced and extensive winery websites that we have seen - especially the educational section. Visit: www.merryvale.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-6:30pm Phone: 963-7777 Address: 1000 Main St Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Mi Sueno Winery (means "my dream" in Spanish) and was founded and is owned by long time Napa winemaker Rolando Herrera. As Rolando says, it took him 20 years to realize this dream but just 20 seconds to come up with the name! The story that leads to the founding of this winery is actually quite amazing. Rolando's family immigrated to the USA seeking a better life in 1975. His Napa Valley beginnings were very humble, starting as a dishwasher at Auberge du Soleil then a line cook at Mustard’s Grill...talk about starting at the bottom and working your way up. Rolando had often wondered what it would be like to work at a winery as he drove by the wineries every day on his way to work. When a friend told him he had an extra job at the already famous Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Rolando jumped at the opportunity. During his first day of work he headed straight for the cellar but quickly found out this "winery job" had absolutely nothing to with wine; rather it was constructing a stone wall around the home of famed vintner, Warren Winiarski. Talk about a let down! However Winiarski soon could see the Rolando had interest in wine and he was able to work a harvest soon thereafter. He then moved into working additional harvests and gained invaluable experience in the cellar; at the young age of 21 be became cellar master for this very well known winery. Other winemaking positions included working for Chateau Potelle, Vine Cliff and Paul Hobbs. With a resume like Rolando's it was only a matter of time before he jumped into making wine for his own commercial winery. Mi Sueno sources all their fruit from select vineyards both in Napa and neighboring Sonoma County. Rolando's brother Richardo has been a much sought after vineyard manager and winemaker (with stints at Screaming Eagle, and Dominus) and today exclusively works with Mi Sueno. What is unique about this winery regarding their vineyards is that despite sourcing all fruit for their wine (they own no vineyards), in actuality they essentially "own" the vineyards, just not the land. The reason for this is all vineyards they source from are locked up in very long term contracts allowing them to build consistency into their wines as well as gain control of the actual vineyards. In addition, they micro manage these vineyards themselves and in some cases actually planted the vines. If they take over a "new" vineyard and its not up to their exacting specifications (pruning, quality of fruit etc), they will retrain the vines to their specifications before they even use the fruit in their own wines. This is a very unique level of involvement not often found with a winery that "sources" fruit and does not actually own the land. Ease of work and shortcuts are always a temptation in any industry; Mi Sueno does not take these shortcuts - quality is of the utmost concern with everything this winery does. The winery itself does not usually see visitors due to its industrial park location, however you are in luck - their wines are poured at the multi winery tasting room Vintner's Collective in downtown Napa. Their first vintage was in 1997, merely several hundred cases of Chardonnay. Today they make about 5000 cases and growing. The 2005 Los Carneros Chardonnay is straw like in color - nice golden hues with robust aromas of toasted almond and crème Brule. This wine undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation and like many of Rolando's wines, the fermentation is with natural yeasts. There is a lot of depth represented in this wine which you feel in the viscous and layered palate. The mouth feel is soft and silky with nice citrus driven fruit notes as well as hints of honey and subtle oak towards the finish. An older vintage of this wine was also served at a White House State dinner for at that time the President of Mexico, Vicente Fox. The 2006 Russian River Pinot Noir from the Ulises Vineyard in neighboring Sonoma County is not a light weight Pinot Noir! This is pretty obvious starting with the deep ruby color and a nose full of flower characteristics, rose petals and lavender with a undertone of spices. This is a full bodied Pinot with a layered palate that packs a rich array of lively fruit including pomegranate and raspberry. The mouth feel is round and very well balanced. This was served at a Cinco de Mayo White House dinner in 2008. The El Llano Red Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah) is their most produced "workhorse" wine. It is very versatile and in much demand. Invariably your first impression of this wine will be its dramatic dark color. Like Rolando's other wines it has an excellent mouth feel - plush, velvety and smooth. Nice dark fruit flavors are present including blackberry and black cherry - with almost a briary characteristic. Spices and an interesting earthy nuance round out the finish. The Herrera label features wines that are available in only very limited quantities - typically fewer than 100 cases. These are only released when they have a barrel with superb quality wine or a specific vineyard block that does especially well one year. As a result, unfortunately these are typically sold out and unavailable for tasting at Vintner's Collective however, you can contact the winery for specific release dates and to get on their mailing list. Should you be a well-known sports player, ask about their signed jersey for wine program! Visit: www.misuenowinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private, You can taste at Vintner's Collective Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 258-6358 Address: Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Midsummer Cellars is a very small production winery specializing entirely in Cabernet Sauvignon. It is run by Rollie Heitz and at press time produces under 500 cases of premium 100% Cabernet from their own vineyards located near Deer Park on the way to nearby Angwin. Coming from a well-known Napa winemaking family, Rollie has grown up in the industry. He is the youngest son of Joseph Heitz, the original patriarch of one of the older wineries in the Valley - Heitz Cellars. He has gained invaluable winemaking experience during the years working for his family's business as well as another local winery. He's always had the "itch" to start up his own winery and took the plunge in 2000 sourcing fruit from other vineyards. In 2000, finding that it would be more cost effective to grow his own grapes, he and his wife Sally planted Cabernet Sauvignon near their home and now use the fruit from this vineyard for their wine. The actual tasting is held at a small winery mere seconds off of the Silverado Trail on the edge of Sage Canyon Road. With one of the smaller winery signs in the valley it can be fairly easy to miss. Pull in the driveway, park and then walk the short distance to the actual winery. Initially Midsummer Cellars custom crushed their fruit at several wineries before they found this excellent location. The winery is about as small a winery as you will find in the Napa Valley. It has a tiny crush pad and a few storage cellar sheds for the barrels. A visit is for small groups and weather permitting is held outside under what is probably the largest Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) in the Napa Valley. This oak is extremely old and was chosen as a "corner marker" in a land grant many years ago - as even then it was a significant tree. The tasting is always with Rollie as he is the grape grower, vineyard manager, and winemaker and is about as personal a tasting experience as you will find in Napa. In other words he exclusively runs this winery! You will start your tasting with a barrel sample which is an early glimpse of his future vintages - and then you will try the "good stuff" which is his current vintage. We sampled his 2004 Canon Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a very smooth velvety Cabernet - with sweet tannins anchoring the pleasant long finish. There are lots of fruit flavors in this wine including blackberry and black cherry especially in the mid palate. The nose is strong and complex. This is a very high end Cabernet but is reasonably priced by Napa standards. Because of the small size of the winery Rollie can micromanage all aspects of the growing and winemaking. He plans to bring additional Cabernets from other vineyards to market and ramp up his production slightly in the coming years. You can join his mailing list. Visit: www.midsummercellars.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call Phone: 967-0432 Address: 771 Sage Canyon Road, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Milat Vineyards is a very small family owned winery (their family heritage is Croatian) located on the west side of St. Helena Highway (Highway 29). The Milat's moved here in 1949 and actually sold grapes for many years to nearby well-known wineries. It was only in 1986 that they started using their own grapes for making wine. They merely produce about 4000 cases which for a winery on this part the Highway is relatively small. Their intimate tasting room is just south of St. Helena along this busy part of the highway. This area is quickly growing with the new major Hall Winery nearby, the new Flora Springs tasting room, and other nearby construction. The winery and crush pad surround the tasting room with a separate building for wine aging located nearby. It might be easy to simply bypass this winery (don't!), perhaps because of the traffic along this section, you haven't heard of them (that's right they don't make too much wine!), and their building is not new and fancy like some of the other "monuments" that have already and are currently popping up nearby. Your tasting is always with one of the Milat family members as they rotate themselves in front of the public every week. They like to compete between each other to see who sells the most wine in the tasting room! It is refreshing to actually talk to the owners/winemakers themselves at a winery situated along Highway 29 - compared to many of the corporate or private large wineries in this area where you will never even meet the owner or winemaker. Milat has about 20 acres planted (behind and around the tasting room) and they are the vineyard managers as well as the winemakers. For $5 you can try 6-7 wines. Their wines are well balanced and are structured to be consumed upon release. In addition, all their current release wines are priced extremely reasonably when compared to so many of the high priced wines in the Napa area. Their Chenin Blanc is among the best we've tasted in the valley - the 2005 Chardonnay is a very rich full bodied example of what you can do with this varietal. Barrel and tank aging, no malolactic fermentation - lots of good fruit layers in this wine. Their Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon are all 100% varietal (no blending). Their Merlot is noteworthy because its very representative of its terroir with Eucalyptus trees planted nearby - the only way you would miss the big herbal, mint and menthol aromas in the nose is if your sense of smell had been destroyed. These aromas carry into the palate only slightly with more cherry and plum flavors to follow towards the finish. Both their Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon's are very rich in flavor. Their Zivio vintage Zinfandel Port is not a syrup bomb - yes it is sweet but its well balanced sweet between body, flavor and structure. It has a nice name to, Zivio means "cheers" in Croatian. Because this family has been in the valley for so long and they actually work the tasting counter - its well worth a stop here just to talk about winemaking in general or about any of the other wineries, owners or winemakers. We've been here several times and once Mike Milat (one of the two brothers) was working the tasting counter. Mike knows many Napa winery owners and winemakers and is one of the better winemaker story tellers we've come across. One of their labels is a sketch of one of their homes. The property is very historical as well. Guest rooms also available on site. This is a winery one would hate to ever see become corporate. Visit: www.milat.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5:30pm Phone: 963-0758 Address: 1091 St. Helena Hwy. S., St. Helena